Hi all,

Got into an argument with DH yesterday. I had to go to the thrift shop for a couple of hours yesterday. The books are mess - not enough people to help out. I spent 2 hours there but didn't get a ton done. We have lots of empty shelves but are overloaded with books in the back. It's overwhelming and frankly I am tired of being pulled from all ends. Just have to turn away and leave it be. My partner returned and I was able to hand off the bingo stuff to him. Told him we are going away for a few days and that I'd see him most likely at bingo. My friend who runs the shelter called and asked if we wanted to join her and her hubby (DH's fishing buddy) for a boat ride yesterday with a stop at a local great pizza place. Sounded wonderful as it was a beautiful Indian summer last hurrah kind of day. DH asked me to pick up some raw hamburger for the cat so I picked up a few groceries and made a quick guacamole and some fresh fruit to take on the pontoon. We had a great ride - started to see some color from the shore as well as eagles, loons and mallard ducks. It was nice and quiet on the lake - we were the only ones out there. We started out at 5:30 and didn't get to the pizza place until 7:30. By 8pm the sun has set so it was pitch dark when we went back to their house. That was not the most comfortable ride for me - driving when you can't see anything but lights on the shore. I tried not to think about how disorienting it would be to fall into the water when you can't see which way is up :eek: But still it was a nice enjoyable day. Today will be busy getting ready for our trip. It was supposed to be warm and sunny and now the closer we get to it, the rain is moving in. So far it's holding to Thursday when we return, the weekend should be awful - so glad we decided to go mid week. Not much color up that way yet. It's really hard to time the colors.

Annie - so sorry that you are having such losses in your life. :hug: Always hard to lose a dear one. Even tougher as we age because so many more of the people we know are aging too and health issues take their tolls. Also tough for the boys to lose their sister. That is one very real downside to today's blended families. And the boys are so young it's difficult to understand. :( Looks like you are doing renovations of your own. It's good of you to make the space in your house, I know it must be crowded. I grew up in a small 2 bedroom house where 3 people could not walk without bumping into each other. It's just hard to get some alone time. Work will have to be your alone time :dizzy: Or maybe just your car. Thank you for the reminder to look after myself. You do the same :hug:

Laura - how did the game go yesterday? Did you stay long? What do you eat at the middle Eastern restaurant?

Shad - I'm all in with your regarding the reboot. I always find this time of year (summer into autumn) to be the hardest for weight loss. The body wants to hold on to extra calories for the upcoming winter months. But it can be done. Apple and cranberry season are just around the corner. I'm not much on pumpkin but the deer are looking forward to their treat. They love pumpkin. Are you back to dog sitting Ruger?

Ceejay - will you catch any of the remnants of Irma? We spent some time watching the hurricane news. I have family and friends with places around Tampa - I hope all of their homes will be ok as well as them.

Waiting for your check in Susie.

I'd better get to work. I have a long list of things to do.

Good morning,
Good grief is all I can say about high maintenance children who grow up to be high maintenance adults.

Annie
I am with the rest of the chicks, you are not a bad wife.

Happy
When are you leaving for your trip? You deserve this one. I hear you on the pain waking you during sleep. I hate to take pain meds other than Aleve.

Laura
Good for you in doing the DVD video's I miss going to the gym. but I can't plan anything with the niece staying at my/her house. Her mom is supposed to get her today. However, neither of us have heard from this morning.

Shad
I can vouch for retirement being more busy that in my working day. I wonder why that is?!

-----------
As I've mentioned earlier that I haven't heard from the niece. Told me last night that she would be here sometime this morning. And that may be 11.59 a.m.
Yesterday was church and then to sis's house for lunch. Brought my niece back to my house and a friend picked her up and not
Seeing all of the scenes from Florida is devastating.
The weather people are saying no rain from Irma just clouds.
Heard from nice shes coming at 11.30.

Morning all. Happy Monday.

Annie – Oh, not a happy weekend for you – and S and the boys either. It will be hard for them to not see Riley anymore. :( == Well, if S and the boys are going to be in your house permanently, it sure makes sense to maximize the space. It’ll be nice for the boys to have a space of their own.

Happy – You certainly sound like you’re at a breaking point with the thrift shop work. Is DH feeling that way (about your work) also?? I’m glad you’ll have a short break from it all this week. == I hope the weather holds for your getaway! :crossed: Safe travels! == I’m glad you had a nice day boating. Quiet time in nature sounds wonderful! = At the Middle Eastern restaurant, we usually order lamb kebob sandwiches, which are gound lamb that’s been seasoned & grilled, served in a pita pocket with lettuce and tomato, which we top with tahini and hot sauce. We also order baba ganough (sp?), which is sort of like hummus, but it also has eggplant in it. And we also order a few falafel (fried ground chickpea balls). Yum.

Ceejay – How long will your niece be staying with you? == Yes, it was rough watching the damage being done to Florida by Irma. And they might still have H. Jose to deal with later in the week. I’m glad your area won’t have to deal with any remnants of Irma weather.

Hellos to Susie and Shad.
==
The game day at my SIL’s was nice. I didn’t watch any of the game, LOL. Spent time looking at wedding photos from forty years ago and talking with my sister. I stayed for the whole game and then some.

When I got home, bf and I went to the produce market. Among other items, we bought some deli meats/cheese, and I made some sandwiches for my work lunches and wrapped & froze them.

That’s about it for me. Nothing going on this week so far. Have a good day everyone. :)

Morning all,
Dog free today and for the rest of the week. Rascal is turning into Houdini and escaping from his confined spaces. DS2 got woken in the middle of the night by a phone call from the breeder of the dog who had a phone call from a vet several suburbs away from DS2. He had somehow got through 2 fences and went wandering. Got picked up by some lovely people who knew some people who had German Shepherd dogs and thought it might be one of theirs. Turns out their shepherds are related to our shepherd. Anyway they took him to the vet who ran the microchip and came up with the breeders name. Rung the breeder. She had forgotten to get the chip changed and so she had to ring DS2. She was apparently not very impressed! Given that they both work, it seems I will be on doggy day care for sometime to come. Still, I can live with it. Until I decide to take a break.

Annie - good on you for clearing out the house and getting some space for you all to live in. It must be a stressful time. I know it was with me when I had 3 adults in this house and not enough room. As for Ainslie going out to Colorado and the boys missing her, you could always set up Skype and get together and chat every so often. I have to do this with Miss S and DS1 and partner. It's not a miracle cure, but at least we get to be in touch and see each other. And at some point in time Sam may move out and get a place of her own. Then you will have to deal with just he and she! You do need some space of your own and you will have to find it. You are not a bad person for taking time out or stating that the kitchen is closed because of illness (the cook is sick of cooking). I did. They foraged for themselves on a Friday.

Happy - Glad you got out on a fishing trip. Would do you both the world of good. That shelter is sucking the life out of you. Hope you have a wonderful time on your trip away. I started some walking exercise today. Usually I take the dog out for a walk while he is here, but he's not back this week so I have to do things for my self. Might try a CD tomorrow and see how that goes. I would have thought that all the stuff I do during the day would have been sufficient but apparently not and I will have to cut back on food as well.

Ceejay - It seems that when we retire we decide to do all the things we never had time for while working and we decided to do them all at once :lol3: Silly us. Hope you enjoy the having the niece around.

Laura - Love produce markets. Good on you for making ahead your lunches. No excuses now for not eating well. Sounds like fun looking at all those old photos. How young we were.

Okay, time on computer is up. I am determined to achieve my list today. So I am off to sand and prime the doorways and windows in the bathroom, and then maybe I can post some photos, then the bathroom needs a clean, and I have to finish poisoning the tree stumps from the hedge that I cut down. I need to mow the lawns and poison some weeds and run the vacuum around the place. Sunday the cat needs a cuddle apparently so I had better go sort out my day.

Quick hi and bye - talk to you in a few days :wave: Hold the fort down ladies :D

HAPPY...Safe travels and enjoy yourself, DH also!

SHADDIE...skype sounds wonderful in a perfect world with Ainsley and the boys. Her mother does not like Samantha so I hardly think she will put Ainsley first and let her skype. Good thought though. IS YOUR HAIR GROWING IN NICELY???

LAURA...sounds like a nice time at your SILs. Glad you stayed and enjoyed yourself. mmmmm, the produce market. Gotta love that.

CEEG...Did niece arrive finally? We are to have some rain from Irma but only rain. Nothing too terrifying.

*******************

Samantha colored my hair last night. It grows so fast these days. Thursday evening is trim cut with my lady.

Wednesday is the viewing for babysitter. 5:00 to 8:00pm The graveside service will be private on Thursday. We will go to the viewing only. Just so sad. She taught my kids all the age 1 to 5 things they needed to know to start kindergarten. We (ex dh and I) also did things with them outside of the babysitting. They were a fun couple. She will be missed by many. Heart of gold she had.

Jacob lost his second tooth last night. Now the two front bottom teeth are missing and one adult bottom tooth has already started to grow in. Jacob was so excited because it came out just before bed time. I have not checked with Sam yet to see if the tooth fairy came or had memory lapse. lol. Fall break for Jacob is just around the corner. Man where is time going? Fall break is October 9th through the 20th, two weeks. We didn't even have a fall break when we went to school. Guess that is why they go back to school so early in July. Please people give them a summer.

Had a bad afternoon with my head yesterday. Got home and realized I had not taken my meds for the day. I will blame it on that and not on all the crazy stuff going on in my life and in the world. I have to talk myself out of crap all day long.

Best get to work. Two CCs today. Lucky me. NOT.

Hugs

I will try again. I get messages stating that either 3fc is not responding or that IE has stopped working.
My sis,bil, and niece went to nephew's softball game last night. It was a good game. They pulled from behind to win by 9 runs.
Went shopping yesterday with sis and niece. I didn't buy any thing cause they didn't have a good selection in my size. I did buy a pair of shoes at Shoe Carnival.
My niece is with sis for the rest of the week.
We are going to Branson tonight to see a show called Moses.
Will

---------
Happy
When do you leave for your vacation? How nice of your friend to invite you for a ride on the pontoon.

Hello's to Laura, Shad, Susie and Annie.




-

Morning all.

Shad – How fortunate it was for doggy to be tracked back to ds2! I hope the chip is in the process of being registered to DS. Great that you can take on doggy day care duties for a bit, but it seems ds needs to Houdini-proof his premises. And when you’re not doing doggy day care for them, they need to hire a dogsitter/walker and/or bring doggy to a doggy day care facility. == Great idea for Ainsley and the boys to keep in touch via skype. == Good for you getting back to the walking, even without doggy to keep you company. == Good luck with getting through your list! Especially the cat –cuddling. :)

Happy – Safe travels and enjoy yourself.

Annie – I now realize I said Riley instead of Ainsley yesterday, though Riley is another blended family member – on bf’s side of the family. ;) == Fall break – we never had that when I was in school either. But then again, I don’t recall going back to school as early as J did. We returned before Labor Day, but not even a full week before that. And these days, the Chicago Public Schools still don’t start until after Labor Day, unlike suburban schools that start around mid-August. == I dunno, it’s probably good to spread out the breaks so the kids aren’t so ingrained in a long summer break. I know that makes me sound like a big grump, but it sure was an adjustment getting out into the real world and working year-round with no summer break... Sounds like you have wonderful memories of the babysitter. My condolences to you and your kids.

Hellos to Ceejay and Susie.
==
I did one Body Electric workout last night. Dinner was salad, rotisserie chicken, and tater tots.

A bit crabby today. We’ve had turnover with a firm we use and the transition isn’t going all that well. But I’ve experienced worse, so we’ll give it some time and patience. We have a conference call with them in a bit, and I’ll be glad to get that over with. And then the day will be almost half over, yay for that.

That’s about it for me, so I’ll get this posted. :comp:

Hi Everyone,

Work is off the chain this week and my personal life seems to be as well.

I can report a 2.4 lbs loss on Thursday last week so that was good.

Sorry for no personals right now. I did read through the posts.

Anne: i just wanted to say "hang in there" lady. I'm praying for you and sending you good vibes and love. I'm sorry for the loss of the babysitter who is also a friend. It is hard to lose people we love. One day there will be no more sorrow....won't that be amazing?!

Ceejay: It sounds like you are having a nice visit with the niece and doing fun things with the rest of the family.

Happy: Fingers crossed for your trip on Thursday; you need a get-a-way!

Shad: You are the home project queen. You should get someone to film you and maybe you could do one of those DIY shows! Did Sunday the cat enjoy her cuddle time? I miss my kitty, Hudda Budda and cuddling with him. We might be getting close to the time of thinking about getting another one sometime in the future.

Laura: While you didn't watch much football it sounds like you had a nice time with your sister. I hope the conference call with the law firm went well. Change is never smooth.

Ok..I'm out of here and heading home. I just got off hold with travel as I needed to make changes to a Asia trip for my manager.

Wet, dreary day is not going to get me!! Irma's aftermath has hit Indiana. Nothing serious like the hurricane, just an all night/day steady rain. Sadly, we needed it. Our grass is brown and ugly. I don't care about that really. Less mowing.

Dinner was Garlic butter baked chicken. So yummy. Served with cheddar rice the others ate and California mix veggies. Very delicious. All the family liked it. The night before I made a bacon cheeseburger casserole. So yummy also. All keto recipes the family likes. Sure makes it easier for me. Kind of eat what I eat or nothing at all. lol.

Tonight is the viewing for Lou (the babysitter). It is so sad. She was only 72. D*mn alzheimer. H*ll getting old. Everyone around you dies and we are left to selfishly mourn. We should be happy they get to experience the Lord and heaven. I pray no one is born with same emotions that I carry. It is hard on the heart. No wonder I had a heart attack two years ago.

SUSIE...congrats on the lbs down. Now you are heading back in the right direction...Work is always so crazy for you. I don't know how you stay sane through it all. Hugs

LAURA...Riley-Ainsley, I got what you meant. lol. Hope your day goes better at work. No crabbiness.

CEEG...I love watching softball, especially when it is girls fast pitch. Sam used to play. How was Moses? I need to experience Branson sometime. Never done that.

HAPPY...safe travels.

SHADDIE...working like a dog!

Hello to all.

Hugs

Morning all.

Ceejay – You were typing over my head yesterday and I missed your post. Sounds like you’re having fun with the family. How was the show last night?

Susie – Another fantastic loss – keep up the good work!! == You’re always so busy at work – your days must fly by!

Annie – It’s been a dreary day here too, but not much rain. Forecast is for it to be a bit sunny this afternoon. :crossed: == Sad about Lou, 72 is young these days. It never occurred to me that mourning is selfish, but I guess it is, and it's not even something you can control. Memorial services and viewings are specifically for those left behind, so don’t feel negative about it. And it's not all about us - we celebrate that person’s life and share our special memories of them. We’re all thankful that someone is no longer suffering and has gone to a better place and is with those who have passed before him/her.

Hellos to Shad & Happy.

==

Last night I did a workout dvd. It was a core workout using the big exercise ball. It was longer than I thought it would be, but each move went really quick, so I liked it.

No boss in the office today, so no crabbiness. :D This afternoon is our office’s summer outing. The venue is about a mile from the office and the description is: “New American spin on British food served in an upscale restaurant with 2 bars & riverfront views.” I hope the weather clears up and we can enjoy the river views.

Have any of you done anything as a result of the Equifax data breach? I supposedly have free credit monitoring through my AAA membership, which is with a company related to Experian, but I haven’t been able to access their site the past few days. That’s a concern… I’m considering freezing my credit with the credit reporting agencies. Susie, I know you use a service like Lifelock – have they advised you to do anything special??

That's about it for me. Have a good day everyone. ;)

Hello
 

Niece is wanting to come spend the night with me and am supposed to meet her on Chestnut in Springfield. Im not sure whether or not her mom is willing to bring her in.
The production of Moses was great.
Andy brought the boys over this morning. Theyve both had fevers this week. The oldest had a wellness doctors visit and both boys were going for haircuts.
Im on my phone so i will skip personals for tomorrow.

Good Lord help me. I woke up with an attitude. Will be back in a few.

Good morning,
Waiting on my niece again. She spent the night with a friend. She will spend the night with her brother. This week has worn me to a frazzle.


Annie
Sending good vibes and love your way.

More later.

Morning all. Another day that's started off foggy and gray. But the temps are mild, so that's nice. I think it's going to be very summer-like for at least the next week. I'll try to savor it, even if it does end up being a bit too warm for my liking...


Ceejay – You sound like you’ve had more than enough activity for the week. :faint: A day or two of “Ceejay time” is definitely in order!

Annie – I take it this is an attitude that will not do you any good. I hope it fades as the day goes.

Happy – Hope you’re having a nice restful getaway.

Shad – How’s your week going? Gotten enough dog walks and cat cuddling?

Susie – Hope the WI goes well tonight!

==

The summer outing was nice, the venue was roomy with plenty of seating. The outside area overlooking the river was a bit small. But it never did get sunny, and it was a cool damp/humid kind of day, so I didn’t feel bad about sitting inside with a few other women from the office. The food wasn’t all that exciting, but it was tasty – slider-type sandwiches with a choice of burger, crispy chicken, pulled pork and a vegetarian option. Homemade chips. Some appetizers brought around by servers. I skipped the chips and had the chicken and pork and took the top bun off of both. It was a nice little break from the office.

Last night I froze my credit file with Equifax, but wasn’t able to do it for the other two credit agencies. Either the sites were bogged down by high volume and/or it couldn’t match my info to their records, which is annoying. If their system can’t match it exactly as I give it to them, it should be able to take into account the abbreviations, punctuation, and spaces and be able to do it. But I guess if their system isn’t smart enough to do that, then I can certainly see how it can get hacked into. Anyway, I’ll try the other two again at lunchtime.

That’s about it for me. Make it a great day!! :dizzy: